3. Know where the groups meet and have a groups concierge in a prime location.
As a group leader trying to connect with newer people, know what groups may work best for the person you are trying to connect. If the visiting family lives 15 miles east of the church gathering, asking them to attend a group that meets 15 miles west would not seem very wise—you shouldn’t expect them to drive 60 miles round-trip every week for a group meeting.
Try to connect them with a group that meets fairly close to their home. If you are not sure, walk over to the group’s counter with them and help them find one that best suits them. You can offer your assistance based on their demographic or their interests as well as your knowledge of the leaders. The goal is connecting them to a group that best serves their needs, not that best serves your needs. Have a group’s table with a volunteer staffer ready to help them find a place.
4. Invite them to a basic newcomers’ class or informal gathering.
Connect with people by inviting them to a basic newcomers’ gathering. This could be a class that highlights the foundations of your church or it could be an informal gathering that helps them find their next steps for assimilating into the church. Design this as an opportunity for them to connect with other people: group leaders, key leaders and pastors. The goal of this newcomers’ gathering is to connect them with the mission and vision of the church, with other people, and with a group.
5. Follow up.
Here is where we go “old school.” Many churches have abandoned some basic follow-up of visitors to their church gatherings. Below are some follow-up things we do.
a. Visitors receive a phone call on Sunday night from a volunteer who thanks them for visiting.
b. The church mails out a typed letter on Monday that includes information about small groups.
c. As the lead pastor, I send visitors a hand-written note on Thursday. It is brief but personal, saying something like: “Thank you for being our guest this Sunday at Grace Church. We hope you were challenged and encouraged. Please let us know if you have any questions or if we can be of service in any way. God bless, Ed Stetzer.”
d. An optional follow-up is really old school. We stop by their house with a baked good on the Saturday after they visited. This works better in some parts of the country than it does in others.
e. Finally, we provide the names and contact information of those people who attend the newcomers’ gathering to the group leaders. We want the group leaders to connect them to a group as soon as possible.
Conclusion
We want to move disconnected people who are sitting in rows toward becoming connected people who are sitting in circles. If we do that quickly, they’re almost certain to stay and become connected into the life of our church. If they’re not yet believers, they will hear the gospel in the context of having some friends around them, and that is the ultimate goal. We want them in the Kingdom, not just in the building. It starts with a simple connection.
